


In my heart, it's where you belong

by calie15



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Future, Angst, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-13
Updated: 2013-11-19
Packaged: 2018-01-01 09:09:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1043029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/calie15/pseuds/calie15
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In her dreams Neverland grew over time, and so did he.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The dreams began in flashes, but they all reminded her of Neverland. Smells, temperature, flashes of the sea, forest, her little nook in the cave. Then images expanded to create clear landscapes where she found herself staring in shock. They were clear, so clear. The first time she took a step on the familiar ground it deteriorated and she woke panting. Then slowly, they became more, almost as if over time Neverland built within her. She told Neal. She wouldn't dare confide in her brothers. Neal reluctantly brought her to Rumplestiltskin.

He stood in front of her, hand out stretched, eyes closed. Moments passed and he opened them, staring at her with a furrowed brow.

"Well?" Neal asked anxiously.

"Nothing, I don't get anything from her," Rumple said and narrowed her eyes at the girl.

"That's good, right?" Wendy asked hopefully.

"It's like you aren't here. More specifically, as if something is blocking me from detecting you."

Wendy turned to Neal. "I don't know anything, I swear."  
\--------

Rumplestiltskin had stared suspiciously at her as Neal rushed her away and she found she had more questions then she started with.

And she continued to dream.

There were mermaids, fireflies, birds. All the things she would admire. She walked through familiar haunts, memories rushing to the surface. Some memories were unpleasant, but not all. The majority of her time there hadn't always been so bleak.

She smelled food one day, but there was no one in the camp.

Trees would rustle behind her and she'd turn, but there was no one there.

It rained and she stared down at her soaked pajamas, waking with a chill.

Then one day she heard pipes. A tune so familiar that she forgot how to breathe. So she stood in the middle of Neverland, unable to move, the soft notes floating around her. Part of her wanted to run in search of it, and another wanted to run away. 

When she woke she fought sleep for two days and eventually she passed out.

When her eyes opened it wasn't her room she saw, it was Neverland, in it's full glory before her. Sun rising beyond the water, the forest floor full with tree growth. She could hear the birds, the waves. The smell of salt water invaded her nose and a warm breeze brushed against her skin and she shivered. She shook because her body knew something was coming. Something. A hand touched her arm, warm and firm. Wendy's eyes clamped shut as she found herself on the edge of panic. She wished herself away, wished herself awake, it had worked before, but the hand tightened on her wrist, somehow preventing her from leaving. "Let me go," she begged.

"Says the girl who can't let me go."

Wendy felt a tear escape her lids at the sound of his voice. "Please..." Don't take her away, don't make her stay.

"I think I should thank you. As my life snuffed out do you know what I thought of?"

He waited, perhaps wanting a response, but he didn't request one.

"You. I latched on to that little piece of your heart that still wanted to hate me, but couldn't."

She shook her head furiously. "No." There were tears in her voice. He stepped closer and his chest brushed against her back.

"Here," he whispered into her ear and brought a hand to rest over her chest, placed it over her heart, "a part of that is mine. Perhaps I should have been more careful with it."

There wasn't regret in his tone, it sounded more like an observation. 

"Neverland," he began and slid his hand over her chest to grasp her other arm, "is made of imagination, of dreams. And every time you dream, I become whole again and Neverland grows."

"You're lying," she rasped. Because she couldn't be responsible for his return, she wouldn't.

"You don't believe that," he lowered his head, his lips brushed against her ear, "I'm inside of you, I know better."

She shuddered in response. "I'll tell someone, Rumple-." His hands tightened on her and she inhaled sharply, then just as quickly they relaxed again.

"I can not be torn from you," he mumbled against her neck.

Wendy gasped as he lips trailed over her bare skin. 

"A side effect of this joining is that I've aged with you," he said against the crook of her neck.

Wendy swallowed and realized she could hear the deeper tones in his voice. She wasn't quiet sure what that meant, but she suspected it was his explanation for the current location of his lips on her skin. His touches had always been innocent, taking her hand, teasing a curl, tapping her nose, but not like this, never like this. He'd been a boy on the cusp of his teenage years. Now, he was a teenager turning into a man. The implication of his actions, of what he said, it was mind numbing. Suddenly he sighed though and straightened, his lips leaving her neck.

"Eventually, I'll be able to return."

At that she finally did spin to face him, half expecting him not to be there, but he was, older, taller, slightly broader. His clothes seemed different too, but she couldn't devote her attention to those trivial matters. "No," she gasped.

He lowered his head, bringing it close to her own. "You can't stop me, no one can." He brought a hand up to cradle her cheek and swiped this thumb over it, wiping a tear away. "Tell them if you want. It makes no difference to me."

She blinked up at him, unsure of how to react to his easy going manner. "Why?"

"I can't be stopped Wendy. And when they realize my life is connected to your own..."

He was calm as he implied the danger to her own life. "Let me go," she whispered, panicked by the things she was starting to realize.

"It's to late." He said with certainty.

"Let me go!" She screamed this time and pushed at him until he released her and she stumbled back. Her foot took a step backwards and it slipped on the edge of the cliff. Panic clung to her, making her forget it was a dream, but an arm wrapped around her waist and yanked her forward, plastering her against his chest.

"I can't," he growled down at her. "Even alive, stronger, I could never be free of you. My life is forever tied to your weaker one."

Her chin shook at the realization. She was weak. He would never want to be tied to that. Perhaps he'd use her to come back. If it was her dreams, her imagination bringing him back he would stay with her...then he'd leave, because leaving her was safer for him. But if he said he couldn't, she believed that. And after all, Peter Pan didn't lie. "No," she whispered, but didn't fight him this time. 

He studied her curiously for a moment before speaking. "I can see that before I was prevented from realizing what you meant to my existence and survival. Our future's will always be intertwined Wendy."

Wendy wanted to be strong, she wanted to rant and rave that this wasn't fair, that she refused to believe him. She wanted to push him away again. Yet the fight had left her, and as much as she hated to believe him something in her heart told her he was right. So many times she'd wondered if perhaps her fate was to coexist with him and now she knew she knew the truth. So for the moment she gave up, she sagged and dropped her forehead against his chest.

"It isn't so terrible," he said into her hair. "I can protect you now, where not even old Rumple can harm you. He can't even detect you can he?"

She blinked against his chest as more pieces came together. The look on Rumplestiltskin's face. He'd known something was wrong, more then likely suspected it was connected to Peter. "He'll kill me." There was a chuckle against her ear.

"He may try, but in vain."

"And then?" She whispered in fear. "When you return. Will you lock me away for all eternity to protect yourself."

"A bird, is much safer in it's cage," he said gently into her ear.

Tears escaped her eyes as she squeezed them shut, her bleak future laid out in front of her.

"Your heart though, it's so much stronger when you're free."

Wendy released a shaky breath, scared to be relieved by his words. Fingers brushed over her cheek, gently pushing her hair away, and then she felt his breath tickle her ear, his lips caress it, a promise of something more. Something she feared and yearned for. 

"I have no wish to cage you Wendy bird, but when I'm whole, you'll be coming with me, wherever I go."


	2. Chapter 2

After Wendy's first visit from Peter she didn't see him again, at least not soon. She believed full well that he'd take her with him, he'd done it before after all. So for weeks she waited, looking for a sign of him, seeking him out in her dreams of Neverland. When Neal asked about her dreams she lied. She wanted to tell him, terribly, but to admit that Peter Pan's soul had somehow latched onto her own was a difficult conversation to have. It meant that she was the only thing between Peter and taking him down. Wendy hated herself for it. 

One night, she woke suddenly and found herself staring into those curious, familiar green eyes. She screamed. Pushing herself off the bed and backed up a few paces until she bumped into her dresser. There he lay, on her bed, stretched out on his side and propped up on his elbow as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"That was a bit much," he teased with a smirk. 

Wendy opened her mouth to respond, but he disappeared and just as quickly reappeared in front of her, causing her to jump and bring her hand to her mouth.

"It's a dream Wendy, feel free to scream." As he spoke a smile curled at the corner of his lips. "Oh don't look at me like that, I didn't mean in a terrible way."

"What do you want?" She asked more firmly, regaining some of her composure. 

"There are so many things..." He began and looked upwards thoughtfully.

"Peter," she admonished, her tone lacking the fear it should have. He looked down on her, still smiling.

"I'm bored Wendy," he lamented and reached out for a curl to tug it. "Do you know how frustrating it is letting you take your time. Things seem to go smoother when I don't upset you, but it's terribly boring."

And he meant it. For as ridiculous as it was he was whining. A teenager. Whining. 

He lowered his hand and plucked the strap of her tank top. "I see you've forgone your long nightgowns for the more risqué sleeping options of this time."

Wendy gasped and pushed at his chest. He laughed as he stumbled backwards. "What I wear is of no concern to you."

"Watch yourself Wendy bird," he wagged his finger at her with a knowing smirk, "I hear teenage boys aren't very well behaved."

"What do you think you are?" She snapped angrily, and immediately regretted it. Wendy knew what boys of that time were after, how much more crass they were about what they wanted and were much more open in telling you so. Wendy's question implied Peter was one of those boys. His smile slipped, and those sharp eyes fixed on her and she knew without a doubt the change that age had brought to Peter Pan. His lips on her skin last time, the heated look on his face. He was attracted to her.

The seriousness left him and he let a kind smile slip onto his face. "Just watching out for you."

"You're definition of protection leaves a lot to be desired," she responded snidely without thinking. He raised his eyebrows and for a moment she regretted it.

"I may have been a bit...brash."

"That's an understatement," she said softly as memories began to seep to the surface. He came to stand in front of her and she made to move, but long arms bracketed her in as he grasped her dresser. 

"I want you to trust me," he said seriously, his eyes boring into her own.

Wendy laughed, but it held no humor. "Trust you? Unlikely. And I imagine you only won't my trust because the more easily I accept what's happening the quicker your return."

"True," he admitted, "but I miss how it used to be? Doesn't that count for something?"

"No! You were horrible! You used me to make my brothers-."

"They would have taken you," he said firmly, anger lacing his tone. Peter lowered his head so that his face was within inches of her own. "I wanted the heart of my truest believer and you and they took both from me," he snapped, fury building within him.

"Would you have let me go if my brother's completed your mission as promised?" He didn't speak, and she could see the internal fight within his eyes. "You wouldn't have," she gasped in realization. "You would have broken your promise. You never-."

"I'm Peter Pan, I do as I please," he said through gritted teeth, seeming to become angry by her unfinished statement.

"You can't own me," she cried, tears in her eyes. "That's all you've ever done is treat me like a thing, a pet. Never like a human being."

"How long will you hate me my Wendy bird?" He asked with frown and a shake of his head.

She suspected it was an act. Wendy knew he hated being alone, and she knew he was partial to her, but she didn't believe he was as sorrowful as he looked. "For as long as you kept me, and the some." A hand came to her cheek and she inhaled sharply as she glanced down at it. These actions were new, different. She continued to forget what this change in age had done to the boy in front of her.

"And now I have forever," he spoke softly and lowered his head, "I'll wait."

Then he did the worst thing possible, he kissed her. Her eyes shut with a small whimper of protest and then her eyes flew open and she shot up in her bed for the second time, hand flying to her lips. There was no sign of Peter though, she was awake. Yet the feel of his lips and his words continued to linger.


	3. Chapter 3

Again Neal was at her side, this time with the addition of Emma, as Regina and Rumpelstiltskin were told of Peter's return. They stood in silence, letting the information sink in.

"You're sure?" Rumpelstiltskin asked.

Wendy nodded.

"Let's test it out shall we?" Regina asked and raised a hand.

There were a chorus of no's and Wendy looked around at everyone apprehensively. She turned back to Regina in time to see the women's hand fisted in front of her and her brow creased, a look of pure concentration on her face.

"Regina!" Emma snapped.

Reina sighed and dropped her hand. "That little shit. I can't even touch her."

Wendy understood suddenly, and was grateful that Peter had been right about Wendy being protected, she didn't want to know what the woman had just thrown at her.

"That's why you appear to be a void," Rumplestiltskin said with a frown. "You can't comprehend the amount of magic he has working around your right now."

"We couldn't kill her if we tried," Regina said with an annoyed sigh and folded her arms. Sharp looks were pointed at her. "I didn't say we were going to."

"He said he latched on to her heart," Neal stated, "what does that mean?"

"A figurative heart, not her real one." He stared at the wide eyed girl in front of him thoughtfully. "You're connected now. You die he dies, he's immortal your immortal. While his magic is strong your protected."

"Why me?" She asked softly. "He said my heart, the small part of it that was his." The Dark One stared at her, seeming to not really see her though. 

"That would imply you care about him," Regina said pointedly.

"There-there was a time," Wendy admitted shamefully. A time before he'd threatened to take her brothers, before he'd taken Bae. Then when he'd taken her the second time she'd found herself forgetting her parents, her brothers, and letting Peter slowly worm his way into her heart again. Wendy had never really forgotten them though. For a century they played that game of hating one another and not. He could be so kind to her, and then just as easily cruel. For the most part she found he attempted to control his temper when it came to her, until the end. Until Henry. Peter had changed then, and that desperation to have the heart of the truest believer made him mean.

Rumpelstiltskin's eyes met hers and she felt the need to cower under his gaze. She wasn't scared, but there was something in his eyes, a realization that she didn't like, as if he knew how deep and confusing her feelings were for Peter.

"Your connection to Peter Pan preceded this. I was to wrapped up before to see it. Love is the oldest most powerful magic. By the same token, where there is a soul mate there is also strong magic. Pan didn't connect to you by chance that day, it could have only been you."

Soul mates. The words repeated in her head over and over again, and even though she didn't really understand what that truly meant, she knew it wasn't good, not where it concerned her and Peter Pan. 

"No," Neal said and pressed his hand to her back. "I refuse to believe that. Peter Pan and Wendy?"

"It makes sense," Regina said with a nod. "The only girl on that forsaken island, the time he kept her for. He knew."

He knew. It hit Wendy then. Peter had known all along. Everything she knew, the past century, it was all a lie. Everything he'd done now seemed different. His motivations hadn't been what he'd made them out to be. He'd pretended she was a way to make her brother's do his bidding, or a pretty thing to entertain him. Except he'd known whatel suggested, and that's why he'd kept her close for so long.

"It isn't just that Pan is strong. Love, soul mates, that magic is stronger then any other. He tapped into that. I don't know how to break that. A connection to a soul mate is an unbreakable bond."

After that Wendy heard little else being said. She took a seat, ignorant of the heated discussion around her. Vaguely she heard Emma question why now, why hadn't Peter ever used it before. His sudden attraction came to mind. "He was a boy," Wendy said softly and the conversation around her stopped. "Boys aren't interested in girls."

"And what? Desperation made him use it?" Emma asked further, looking to Rumpelstiltskin for the answer. 

"Most likely," Rumpelstiltskin responded. "But he'd have to feed into it, make it stronger. A boy can't strengthen a bond between soul mates, he's incapable of it."

"He's aged." Wendy said suddenly. Peter wasn't a boy, not anymore. "He said as I age so does he." There seemed to be confusion on some of their faces and Wendy shifted, uncomfortable about what they didn't understand. "He's...different with me now." Everyone stared at her.

Regina sighed exasperation. "She's saying that Peter Pan has discovered the advantages of the opposite sex." Eyes turned to her. "He's likes her." Regina frowned. "Which mean's he is more then capable."

"He kidnapped her," Neal said firmly, "he held her prisoner for over a century. There is no possible way that Wendy is Peter Pan's soul mate."

"And I can't imagine evil, immortal boys know what to do with girls who are their soul mates," Regina pointed out. "Take a boy who doesn't want to grow up, who discovers a girl he's meant to grow up and love, if he had a heart of course. He doesn't want her that way, but he knows he can't let anyone else have her. She's a weakness to his very heart and soul."

"So he keeps her close," Emma finishes. "And pretends she's just a pawn."

Everything after that didn't matter. She had her answers. She had to many answers. 

That night she lay awake and considered fighting sleep, but she knew eventually she would have to succumb to it and she'd have to face him sooner or later. So Wendy closed her eyes and twisted and turned fitfully for hours before she finally fell into a dream.  
\-------

When she opened her eyes she was in her bedroom, but she knew better. The boy staring down at her didn't belong there. While still on her back he leaned over her, his arms on either side of her with his hands planted into the mattress. Wendy closed her eyes and turned onto her side, facing away from his body. "Go away."

"Go away?" He asked. "That's it? No screaming or throwing things? Damning me to hell and back. No questions?"

"I have nothing to say to you," she said as firmly as she could. 

"Lie, you have many things to say to me."

Wendy sat up suddenly and stared at him, doing her best to ignore his proximity. "Why? Why you? I try to be a good person, but you..."

"Don't try?" He finished and cocked an eyebrow when she looked away. "I know I'm not always well behaved, but I'm sure I could...try."

The word 'try' came from his mouth as if it were foul. Wendy turned and looked up at him, knowing her face betrayed her total disbelief. "You? Try to be good."

"Things go smoother when you're happy."

"Things go smoother?! You mean you grow stronger when I'm not miserable! Your kindness is fake, you don't want to be better." He sighed and she could feel the anger coming off of him and she realized that he had been different as of late, less temperamental with her, but that meant nothing. 

"I never lied," he said evenly. "But accepting this is my only way."

"This," she spat. "You can't even say it. Accepting that I'm your soul mate? Is that what you're referring to? You knew, you've always known. Why not just kill me? Leave me in my world to grow old and die?"

"Magic like this would have consequences," he said sharply. "You were no more meant to die then I was to grow up."

"So you kept me, like a prisoner."

Peter's face twisted in an anger that any on Neverland would have been familiar with, they would have run from it. He pushed off the bed and walked away from her before spinning around to glare down at her. "I tried to be kind! But you insisted on always running, on always defying me!"

"You took me from my family!" She yelled and pushed herself out of bed to stand in front of him. "What did you expect?!"

"For you to be like the rest! Forget!" He panted with the effort of his anger.

"I'm not like the rest!" She screamed furiously, her chest rising and falling. It felt good, to yell at him. He couldn't hurt her, not now.

Peter's eyes twitched, for a reason not even Wendy could understand. "I know that," he said gravely. 

"And then when you put me in that cage..." Her voice broke. "How could you?" She whispered harshly.

"They would have taken you from me," he snapped and stepped closer, his body crowding her. "I wouldn't permit that."

"Why not use me instead of Henry?" She asked, and he stared at her. "You're alive because of me, you owe me answers." His face went dark for a moment and she wondered if he might refuse her, but he didn't.

"Being tied to you required me to sacrifice to much," he said the clenched teeth. "I was willing to sacrifice Henry."

Wendy decided not to even touch upon why sacrificing Henry hadn't been acceptable. "Sacrifice what?"

"I was my own person, I was in control. I didn't have to pay a respect to anyone or feel anything."

There had been something beneath all the truths of her discovery. Peter could have just locked her way for safe keeping, he'd admitted as much. He also stated he would try for her and for whatever reason it was necessary that he do so. It suddenly hit her then and the anger left her as she realized the purpose of this wretched fate. "Did you know? Did you know this would happen?"

"There are no future's on Neverland," he reminded her. "But I knew what it would mean."

"Was this always going to happen?" She whispered, her heart pounding as she came closer to the inevitable conclusion. 

He seemed to think it over for a moment, the anger he felt also leaving him as he relaxed. "Possibly."

"Why?" She she said softly, pleading for an answer from him.

"Henry told me something one day," Peter said slowly, his eyes never leaving her own, "good always wins."

"We did, you were gone," she reminded him.

"Not everything is perfect," he said, his tone lacking any emotion as he led her to the answer. 

"I don't understand." No, she refused to understand, she didn't want to.

Peter cocked his head and raised his hand so that his fingers touched her cheek. "What do you do with an immortal boy who misbehaves?" 

She shook her head in confusion, not daring to answer. Even if she wanted to she couldn't, not when he was that close to her, touching her. 

"You find a way to reign him in." Peter dropped his fingers form her face. "Magic's way of controlling me for taking Neverland's magic, for doing all the things that you would consider horrible." 

Wendy inhaled and exhaled shakily. His attempts at kindness, to keep her happy in order for him to survive, it kept him in check. Even if he wanted to he couldn't be that dangerous, killer he was. "I don't want that responsibility." For whatever reason he seemed amused by that. "You'll resent me, you'll hate me." Part of her wanted him to, then maybe he wouldn't take her away.

"I want to hate you," he responded and lowered his head, his eyes and face hard.

The look made her fear him, because she knew him, she knew that stone faced look. It was guarded frustration, anger all fury all held in by one hardened facade.

"But without you I'd be dead," he admitted. "And hating you..." he smirked then, his eyes glinting with his normal evil mischief. "Do you hate me?"

"Yes," she said without a thought, but he didn't seem phased by it.

"Do you?" He asked again. "Do you hate me with your entire being, or is there something there that you hate because you know you don't."

She wanted to lie, say that she hated him with every breath she took, but he was right. His hand raised and she watched in fear as his fingers again brushed her cheek and slid into her hair. As he leaned over her she raised her hands to his chest to stop him, but his head lowered to the side of hers.

"I can be sorry," he whispered against her ear. "I can apologize for all of the horrible things I've done to you."

Wendy stared at the ceiling as he spoke. "And you won't mean it. You'll lie, because the more of my heart that belongs to you-."

"The stronger I get," he finished and dropped his lips to her neck.

Wendy squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to block out the things he was beginning to do to her. "Then it means nothing."

"Maybe one day I can mean it," he said, his lips brushing against her skin. With his hands in her hair he pulled her head gently to the side and exposed her neck.

Wendy inhaled sharply at the open mouth kiss he placed there. An arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her close to his body. Wendy didn't want to be there with the long line of his body pressed against her own, but she was and she fisted her hands in his shirt.

"I can take you places, show you things," he pressed a kiss to her shoulder and turned his head to nuzzle her neck. "All the things you had always wanted to see."

They were dreams of a little girl long from long ago, and Wendy hated him for trying to revive them in her. "You can't put me back together again, not after it was you that broke me."

At her words Peter slowly lifted his head, just enough so that he could see her face with a slight turn of his own. "I'll have an eternity to try."

His green eyes were hooded, but they pierced her as if he were looking into her soul. His lips were only a hairs breath away from her own. The hand in her hair pressed against her head gently, guiding her to turn her head to face to him. It was when her lips brushed his own that she came back to herself and pushed at his chest and o her relie, his hands fell away. Wendy expected him to be angry, not stand there and laugh softly. 

"This is not a game," she said angrily, "I am not a game."

"A game?" He asked and raised his eyebrows. "I like a good game, but you're right, this isn't a game."

"Immortal boys do not kiss girls," she reminded him, hoping that would throw him off this path. He stepped closer to her and she moved to back away, but his hand grabbed her wrist. To her relief he left space between them, but he still leaned in, towering over her.

"That boy you knew," he said in all seriousness, "he's gone. I'm something new, and I'm not a boy."

Although his intention wasn't clear from his statement, Wendy knew what he was really saying. Peter Pan hated the idea of growing up, but this Peter Pan, he'd embraced it, and he had no qualms with acting on his attraction to her. "What you want," she said firmly and yanked her wrist from his hand, "you won't get."

His face twisted in anger, eyes narrowing, then the emotion disappeared form his face, either leaving him or hiding behind his calm facade. Peter smiled gently down at her. "Again, I have an eternity to wait, and I'm very patient."

Then he was gone and she woke in her own bed, alone.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day she burst into Rumplestiltskin's pawn shop. He looked up at her, clearly annoyed and then immediately wary. He was wary of her. It seemed strange that this powerful man would look at her as if he thought he might need to protect himself. He was afraid of Peter, and Wendy was connected to Peter. "I need your help."

"I've already-."

"I need to be able to sleep without dreaming." She said suddenly, forgetting her manners and who he was. "Peter grows through my dreams, my imagination. If I don't dream..."

"He doesn't grow stronger," Rumplestiltskin finished and stared at her thoughtfully. "Smart, but only a temporary solution."

"But it gives us time. There has to be a way," Wendy said firmly. They stared at one another for a time and she would swear he was sizing her up. Then he turned from her and walked to the back if the store. Wendy gnawed on her bottom lip nervously as he approached a wooden cabinet. He withdrew a vial and turned back to her.

"One dropper full every night before you sleep," he said carefully as he approached her and held it out. "Come see me before it's empty."

Wendy reached out to take it, but he held it tightly.

"The isn't a full proof solution. If it does work it is powerful he still may grow more powerful and overcome it. I'd imagine he'll be quite incensed with you."

Wendy pulled it from his hand and glanced down at the vial before looking up at him again. "I've been dealing with Peter Pan's anger for a very long time."  
\-------

For the first time in what felt like a very long time Wendy slept without dreaming.  
\--------

For weeks she slept without Peter Pan haunting her dreams. Then weeks turned into months. For three months she had peace from him, but he was there, Wendy knew it. Not just because his magic still protected her, but she could feel it in her bones, her head, her heart. She felt it gnawing at her, dragging her down. She pulled herself from bed every morning as if something heavy were holding her back. It felt like a black sludge that clung to her, filling her heart and choking her.

"Your messing with the natural progression of your bond with him. You can't fight magic, it fights back," Rumplestiltskin said one day.

Wendy didn't care. She took a new bottle from him, asked him again to keep looking, and left.

And when the dark emptiness in her heart got to much to bear she looked for other ways to distract herself. That was how she found herself stumbling into her bedroom late one night, giggling slightly and coming to her mirror. The room spun and she grabbed onto her dresser to still herself. Squinting, she leaned in, attempting to focus. Her hair was in disarray, lips swollen and void of lipsick. And there was a hicky on her neck, plane as day. He had been no one special, but he was a distraction. And above all he was a boy that was not Peter Pan.

Her brothers would have a fit if they found out, but she was the oldest, and she didn't care. It was her life, and if she wanted to get drunk with random friends, make out with guys and spiral she damn well would. She deserved it, and after a hundred years of Peter Pan she had earned it. 

With a sigh she turned from her dresser and leaned back against it, grasping the edge of it as she attempted to toe off her heals. Once off she sighed, to tired to make it across the room and sunk to the ground.

In the quiet, even drunk, her brain began to work. Even alcohol couldn't muddle it enough to give her a moments peace. Sleep, as dreamless as it was, became something she dreaded. It was a black, painful void now and every time she woke it became larger, sucking her in.

Tears stung her eyes as the loneliness again began to overwhelm her. It was more terrible then she would have thought. The need for something, someone, it was to much. Wendy tried to ignore it, told herself it was necessary, yet deep down she knew her heart betrayed her and ached for someone she shouldn't have wanted.

She laid on the ground and pressed her face into her arms to muffle her sobs, until finally she fell asleep.  
\----------

Something rested over her body, an unfamiliar weight. There was a gentle tapping on her bare arms, slow and even. Slowly, she opened her eyes. Her bedroom was a blurry mess of colors and disjointed images. Wendy closed her eyes against the site, finding herself dizzy just from looking at it.

"Alcohol has an interesting effect don't you think?"

At his voice her eyes shot open and she sat up. What turned out to be an arm resting across her fell away. Wendy found herself staring at Peter, the only fully formed thing in front of her. "What are you-."

"Doing here?" He asked and raised a hand to her cheek, brushing it slightly. Then he grasped her chin and leaned in. "Forget to take something Wendy bird," he snarled angrily. 

Wendy gasped as she realized he was right. She'd past out without taking the potion. 

"You can't shut me out," he said through clenched teeth. "How much longer do you have Wendy before it eats you alive."

What was even worse was he knew, Peter knew that her dreamless sleep was beginning to hurt her heart. She pushed away his hand and to her relief he let go. Needing space from him she pushed up to stand, but immediately stumbled backwards into her dresser. Peter was in front of her in an instant, caging her in with his arms on either side of her body, towering above her.

"You can not be rid of me," he whispered through clenched teeth.

"I will," she whispered and raised her chin defiantly. "I don't want you." His eyes flickered over her and she could see the storm brewing behind his eyes. He grabbed her shoulders suddenly and spun her. Wend gasped as she found herself facing her blurred mirror. With a wave of his hand the room stopped moving and the colors sharpened until everything was as it should have been and she could clearly see her reflection. 

Peter grasped her hair and pulled her head to the side to expose her neck in the mirror. "I don't share,"' he said into her ear, his voice rough. 

Wendy blinked as her eyes focused on the hickey. "I'm not yours," she said softly, her voice quivering slightly under the force of his anger. He yanked her around again and towered over her, again caging her in his arms as he propped them on the dresser.

"Your heart and soul are mine. I'll have you, all of you, and then I'm leaving this place and taking you with me." He said down to her, a smile on his face, so cruel it reminded her of the last days in Neverland.

"I hate you!" She screamed and slammed her hands into his chest. He stepped back, away from her. "You're horrible! You say you care about me, that you want to be better for me, that you're sorry, but it's lies! All lies!"

"You're trying to kill me," he spat. "What do expect?"

"I'm going to get rid of you," Wendy told him firmly, her voice confident, "even if I have to kill myself to do it." Sharp green eyes narrowed down at her, full of hatred.

"We'll see about that," Peter responded in a clipped tone. "I'll see you soon Wendy bird."

He smiled as he said the teasing now, but there was nothing kind in his face or his tone. It was cruel and meant to frighten her. Her surroundings disappeared, and she was falling, falling, until she jerked awake, gasping from the force in which Peter had thrown her from the dream.


End file.
